8Star planning Indy Lights move

The 8Star Motorsports sports car team is planning to move into open-wheels for the first time with an attack on next year's revamped Indy Lights Championship.

The team, which was established ahead of last season by Venezuelan Enzo Potolicchio, is aiming to join the series when the new Dallara-AER IL-15 one-make racer comes on stream for 2015.

The Lights assault would complement its programs in the Prototype Challenge class of the United SportsCar Championship and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda feeder sports car series, as well as 8Star's World Endurance Championship GTE Am campaign with the AF Corse Ferrari team.

"It's a natural step for 8Star Motorsports, which has the expertise and state-of-the-art facilities to extend its operation," Potolicchio said. "With the new Indy Lights cars coming for 2015, this is a perfect time for us to take up the challenge."

Potolicchio added that the team would be "searching for young drivers focused on the road to the IndyCar Series."

The move into Lights would be an extension of its young driver academy, which has already resulted in Sean Rayhall moving up from IMSA Prototype Lites to make selected starts in PC.

8Star, which lies second in the LMPC teams' points, was established for an assault on last year's Grand-Am series with a Coyote-Chevrolet Corvette DP in the former premises of the Champion Audi team in Pompano Beach, Fla. The team moved into the PC one-make prototype category at the end of last season's American Le Mans Series and opted to focus on that class for the inaugural season of the merged TUDOR Championshipthis year.

8Star's successes in the WEC since 2013, which include last year's GTE Am team's title, have been masterminded by the Italian AF Corse squad.